RIP Michael Jackson

The first message I saw when I opened my eyes this morning was "Michael Jackson is dead."

What a way to start the day.

More news here, here and here.

So it is

Just like you said it would be.

Tonight, I'm sleepless because I'm certain that you do not care anymore.

I'm also certain that I'd been knowingly clapping on my own for some months now.

Perhaps that is why I'm waiting till morning comes for you to let me know that the day without you has begun.

If I were a boy

I would turn off my phone
Tell everyone it's broken
So they'd think I was sleeping alone

The Sisters

A few years ago, maybe 5, maybe 6? I don't remember. Project station in Taman Megah. They left us an empty space for a creepy picture.

Ocean's Twelve

Anyone who's seen Ocean's Eleven would want to watch the sequel.

Yours truly, included, of course. Nevermind the fact that I'm just about 5 years too late.

Better late than never, right?

Truthfully, I can hardly remember Ocean's Eleven now, but I remember that I liked it. Casino heist? The Bellagio? The old dude having a heart attack? Diamonds, maybe? Yeah, it was probably somewhere along those lines.

So in this installment, Danny Ocean brings his team to Europe. Cue: Enter two lovely ladies.

I've forgotten how smoking hot Catherine Zeta-Jones is until I saw her in Ocean's Twelve. But that was Catherine Zeta-Jones 5 years ago, no?

Oh, and Julia Roberts impersonating Julia Roberts. That bit was pretty classic. I love.

I've got goldfish memory, which might be a good thing sometimes. It gives me good excuses for horrible reviews.

One of my highlights would be Bernie Mac getting caught while in the midst of a pedicure. I've only ever seen a grown man getting a pedicure once. And he was white. Fat. Old.

The other would have to be Albert Finney, that "Night Fox", doing his sexy dance-thing in his even sexier shirtless physique.

As everyone would predict, all's well will eventually end well.

Here Without You

**I was tagged in a note in Facebook. I hate Facebooking every damn detail of my life**

1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Tag 25 friends.
5. Everyone tagged has to do the same thing.
6. Have Fun


SOMEONE SAYS 'ARE YOU OKAY' YOU SAY?
Here with Me -Dido

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF:
Stars are Blind - Paris Hilton

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Beautiful Day - U2

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Flightless Bird, American Mouth - Iron and Wine

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers <---- HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

WHAT'S YOUR MOTTO?
Stand by Me - Oasis

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Hou Xin Fen Shou - Candy Lo <---- WTF

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Millenium - Robbie Williams

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
I'm Gonna be Around - Michael Learns to Rock

WHAT IS 2 + 2?
Dreaming of You - Selena

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Long December - Counting Crows

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
You Took My Heart Away - Michael Learns to Rock

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Animal Instinct - Cranberries <---- I've always wanted to grow up to be Dolores O'Riordan so that's not entirely a miss

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Underneath It All - No Doubt

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
I've Never Been to Me - Charlene

WHAT SONG WILL PLAYED AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Push - Matchbox 20

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
She's So High - Tal Bachman

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
You're Beautiful - James Blunt

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Don't Look Back in Anger - Oasis

WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?
Little by Little - Oasis

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Old Before I Die - Robbie Williams

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Here Without You - 3 Doors Down

Ugh

Nothing much, just making a point.

Brain

Oh, NOW you decide to call it off.

You should've thought about this 3 months ago, genius.

Congratulations, you've proven that the world does revolve around you.

Are you happy now?

Missing: Life

People say life is what passes you by when you're too busy with work.

This weekend is supposed to be my second wedding of the year.

If you don't know already, I love weddings. I love the food, I love the endless flow of wine (I'm not speaking for the cheapskates), I love the teary speeches from family members and loved ones, and most of all, I love the neverending shouts of yum seng.

But this weekend, I'll have to sit the wedding out and slog my skinny behind in the office to please people I haven't, and probably will never meet.

Did you hear that?

It was probably the sounds of life passing you by.

Production House: Planet Films

A couple of days ago Prinz was being nice and stole a couple of cans of Coke from the kitchen for all of us.

It being too hot outside, he'd taken the liberty to put them in the freezer to let chill faster.

I came in to the office yesterday with a thirst for some cola.

And that was what greeted me.

Having said that, I didn't have my cola and I cleaned the freezer up good.

*Ignore black mark; must be bug (literally) inside my phone

Sex and the City

I had been refusing to watch Sex and the City for the longest time.

But all of a sudden I had stupidly caught the TV series bug.

One thing led to another and before I knew it, I had finished all 6 seasons of Sex and the City. And I had even watched the movie (though it was really nothing to shout about).

If I had to name one thing that I disliked most about the entire series + the movie, I'd have to say Sarah Jessica Parker.

Yes, she may have fabulous abs and a somewhat impressive shoe collection.

But it stops there. Her voice, her curly hair, her supposed sense of fashion. They all annoy me. They all make me gag inwardly and sometimes wish I could gouge my eyeballs and stomp on them. This is one woman who doesn't go well with the word gorgeous in the same sentence. And why does she keep referring to herself as a girl? She looks way old to be saying that. Why does she keep screaming at a furry squirrel? Why does she constantly whine?

I can't understand why they always make Carrie out to be some cute, lovable, gorgeous (ugh!) sex kitten. Oh, and apparently she has the best boobs of them all (what?!). She also wears all the wrong bras with the most fabulous clothes.

Why?

Why is she the star of the show?

Thank God for co-stars.

Where would that silly Carrie be if not for Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha?

Nowhere.

Bom-bom at Superwonderful

Darna's cat, Bom-bom (short for Fatty Bom-bom) making himself perfectly comfortable under my desk next to my pencil case.

Of mothers and boys

Somehow, mothers always prove themselves right in time.

She said to me that I should be with someone who loves me more than I love him.

Today, I finally saw what she was getting at.

My mother has been married to the same man for 30 years.

All my life I'd watched her pacify her husband, soothe his anger. She takes the hurtful words with a pinch of salt. Every time.

And it'd made wonder why she put up with it for 30 years.

As much I love my mother, I didn't want to be that part of her.

I didn't want to walk on eggshells.

And today, I finally see why she'd said what she said to me.

Because deep inside, she didn't want me to be that part of her either.

Anti Corruption Agency

I can't remember which year it was that we did this. Was it 2003?

Images of yore

Xiao Liu and Sky took me out to dinner on my first night in Beijing and they ordered enough to feed a small village of 50 people.

This was the first set Chee Kong built without Jimmy. The shoot lasted till morning and it was probably on that particular day the resentment grew.

Somewhere close to home, I saw a sunset that looked like splashes of bright orange paint. But of course, the result of taking a picture with my phone while driving wasn't as picturesque.

Heather and Remco flew in to Shanghai from Portland a couple of days before our big print shoot with Liu Xiang. They turned out to be a lot nicer to me than the locals were.

I have no idea who this is, but this is part of the sports complex in Shanghai where Liu Xiang came from. It's like China's 139346th wonder of the world.

Na na why don't you get a job?

Many people don't understand what I do for a living.

And many others don't understand why I keep doing what I do because it's what I really want.

So when my brother asked me last night "When are you going to do something more permanent?", the shock was a lot less than the hurt was.

Doesn't he see?

This is permanent.

This is what I want to do.

"So what is your big picture?"

This is my big picture.

Isn't being happy with what you do ultimately the biggest picture of all?

How many people have I met who didn't hate their job but weren't in love with it either?

How many people do I know are contented with climbing the corporate ladder, saving up to buy a car/house and eventually settling down because at the end of the day, their big picture is the same as one billion other people?

I can't say I don't harbor dreams of being richer than I am now and getting a new car/house. Of course, I want to get married someday, too.

Just, you know.

Is it immature to want something else?

What's wrong with traveling?

What's wrong with being a freelancer?

What's not real about what I do?

Fact

I woke up with a start this morning and realized that I can never be to you what you are to me.

It felt like a small part of me died with that realization then.

The Shawshank Redemption

How long does it take for a man to dig his path to freedom?

20 years, crawling through a sewer and into a pool of waste. That was what freedom smelled like to Andy Dufresne.

I happen to like prison movies.

For 20 years, Andy was an innocent man behind bars who was secretly plotting his escape from Shawshank.

In those 20 years, he forged a close bond with fellow inmate Red (played by Morgan Freeman) and brought change to the prison that no one had ever seen before.

One of the things that impressed me most about this movie is its lack of violence and seamless storytelling.

A must watch.

Production House: Picture Creature

Elvis's pink ride that turned heads on the road that day.

We sought shelter underneath a bridge that day.

This is how Jon likes to park his car.

Does this remind you of Titanic?

Sayonara Ebina

I woke up in my own bed today and probably for the first time ever, I felt terrible.

I miss Japan.